Natural Home Design

Earlier this year I was designing a kitchen for a client using recycled timber for the kitchen counter and recycled painted timber for the cupboard and drawer fronts. If you wish to try this as a DIY project there are a few things to consider when sourcing the timber and designing your kitchen counter.

Tips:

Avoid using timber that has lead paint on the surface.

Avoid timber that has been previously damaged by water.

Install a sink with a drainer to avoid wet dishes on the timber surface.

Use a food grade, non toxic, wax/oil sealer for the bench top.

Think about possible joint movement when using recycled timber.

Try to use recycled timber where possible. If you have to use new timber consider sourcing timber from a certified sustainable managed source.

Imagine the birds singing, frogs croaking and the sound of running water from every room. With its curved walls, its hand crafted details and its connection to nature this home holds a very special spiritual and calming quality.

All walls are circular on plan which originated from the Architect designing the home based on the principles of Sacred Geometry.

Each room has a number of original details from cast concrete kitchen and timber counters, mosaic stone floors, handmade crystal lights to twine balustrade hand rails. Decorative items have been collected over time and showcased by the owner and tell stories of their many travels from Asia to South America.

There are so many things I want to show you about this home and I hope I have captured the essence in these photos below.

View from dining room to kitchen.

Copper range hood along with a Paul Bocuse oven.

Cast in-situ concrete kitchen counter together with sinks.

Circular lounge room.

Detail of circular rug on sunken stone mosaic floor.

One of the bedrooms adorned with eclectic cushions, fabrics, throws and accessories collected from travels overseas.

A circular stairwell with recycled timber stair treads and twine handrail leads you up to the top floor yoga and meditation room.

I am so looking forward to the next couple of months as one of the projects we were involved with the interior architecture and decor shall soon be completed.

This house is a very special house using natural materials, many hand crafted details, bespoke furniture, hand made lighting and a curved floor layout based on harmony and balance. From memory I think there is only one straight wall in this home!

I have just received a few sneak peak photos with the house still under construction…

View as you approach. No straight walls here!

View into sunken lounge area.

View into kitchen area with an in-situ cast concrete island unit and rear kitchen counter.

The gorgeous copper range hood installed...

Entrance area before installation of hand made crystal pendant light and recessed floor artwork.

This project is one of my all time favorites for its aesthetic design and outstanding sustainable approach.

Built from the remains of the original house, which was destroyed by the tragic bushfires of Black Saturday in Gippsland, Victoria, in 2009, this home recycles what it can from the fire and adds the latest fire resistant materials to make a eclectic, warm and resilient new house.

2. Due to the need to use fire resilient materials, this new home uses a mix of recycled timber, surviving structural steel, burnt concrete, glass and rusted Corten panels for the interior walls, floors & ceilings. This illuminates the need for any internal; plasterboard, panelling, painting, architraves, tiling, skirting and tiles.

3. Reduced your house size - Think about the number of rooms you really need, can some be dual use and what size do you really need? By reducing your house size you reduced your building, materials and running costs.

For those of you that are heading to the coast for Christmas and are looking for an alternative to the traditional Christmas tree how about a little DIY project inspired by these eco-friendly tree options.

Check out these great handmade Luna Luna woven pendant lights designed by Stephanie Ng Design. Made from 100% treated Merino wool which wraps around the roof of the light fitting creating some interesting pendant feature lights.